Half
the year has flown by already and the going has been
pretty decent for Tamil cinema. Movies like Aadukalam
and Myna really cleaned up at the National awards
and gave Tamil film fans ample reason to puff out
their chests with pride. Among the films released
thus far, quite a few did good business. There were
quite a few which captured the imagination of the
public.

There was the usual eclectic mix that is so distinctive
of Tamil films – offbeat films, romances, quirky
comedies, purely commercial entertainers, and even
an epic saga. All these films had one thing in common,
they managed to make an impact and connected with
people at various levels. Let us look at these films
that did the best job of leaving an impact, so far
this year.

Developed
by : Anuja & Inian ; Designed
by : Muruganantham

Kavalan

Vijay’s big Pongal release was Siddique’s
Kavalan with Asin as his heroine. With this
film, Vijay broke away from the masala films
he was specializing in, and attempted something
different. His experiment worked big time
and even managed to silence his severest critics,
winning universal acclaim for his sensitive
performance.

Kavalan faced more than its fair share of
obstacles, but the film gamely smashed its
way through them not unlike the way Vijay
carelessly mows down the goonda armies of
the villain in his films and went on to become
a hit.

Trade talk: The film made
nearly 55 lakhs in the opening weekend itself
at Chennai Box Office thanks to Vijay’s
fans even though its release was crucially
delayed by one day and managed to sustain
its momentum all the way to the finish line.

Public opinion: Vijay received
a lot of appreciation for this role. In addition
to this, viewers absolutely loved the twist
in the tale.